Agnes Obel was born Agnes Caroline Thaarup Obel in 1981. Living in Copenhagen, and coming from a musician family, Agnes Obel learned piano at a very young age. Her mother used to play Bartók and Chopin at the piano. During her childhood, Agnes Obel found inspiration in Jan Johansson's work. Johansson's songs, European folk tunes done in a jazzy style, have influenced the young musician a lot.
She attended high school at Det frie Gymnasium and university at Roskilde University.
At the age of seven, Agnes Obel worked in a little band where she used to sing and play bass guitar. The group appeared in a festival and even recorded some titles.
Later, and with the help of Danish musician and producer Elton Theander, Obel founded the Copenhagen based band Sohio. After few years of collaboration, Obel debuted as a solo singer with her first album Philharmonics (2010).
Agnes Obel writes, plays, sings, records and produces all her material herself.
She is influenced by artists such as Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell, PJ Harvey and also by the French composers Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Eric Satie.
Obel lives in Berlin.
Website: http://agnesobel.com
Words Are Dead
Agnes Obel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause the words are dead,
Follow in the blindness
On the arrow head
'Cause the words are dead
And you know it
Yeah the words are dead
Lower them down
Didn't know if you could
Deny the dead,
Leaving them in silence
On their moldy bed
Oh I am numb
And over
Their kingdom come
Lower me down
They are dead, they are dead
Oh, don't cry for me,
Oh, don't cry for me,
Oh, don't cry for me,
Oh, don't you cry for me
Lower them down in the ground
Lower them down in the ground
In Agnes Obel's song "Words Are Dead," she sings about the inadequacy of words to express a deep emotional connection. She starts by saying that she wants to express her feelings by buying roses instead of using words because they are ineffective. She believes that the power of the arrow, which represents her emotions, can overcome the limits of language. The phrase "lower them down" could be interpreted in two ways - as lowering the roses to the ground or as lowering the words that failed to capture the meaning of her emotions to the grave.
Obel then shifts her focus from expressing her own emotions to the difficulty of acknowledging death. She uses the phrase "deny the dead" to highlight the fact that we tend to ignore or suppress the pain of loss. She speaks metaphorically about the "moldy bed" of the dead, suggesting that we try to forget about them by entombing them in our memories. She concludes with a somber repetition of "they are dead," implying that the dead are really gone and cannot be brought back to life with words or roses.
Overall, the song deals with the theme of the limitations of language and the inevitability of death, both of which are deeply human and universal experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna buy you roses
I want to express my love for you
'Cause the words are dead
Words have lost their significance, actions speak louder
Follow in the blindness
Continue to ignore the power of action
On the arrow head
Heading toward a definite direction
'Cause the words are dead
Reinforcing the concept that words hold no value
And you know it
You also recognize this truth
Yeah the words are dead
Underscoring the point that words are meaningless
Lower them down
Let's move on from the idea that words have any value
Didn't know if you could
Unsure if you were able to see the truth
Deny the dead
Reject the idea that words still have power
Leaving them in silence
Moving away from the unproductive use of words
On their moldy bed
Letting go of the past and old ways of communicating
Oh I am numb
Feeling indifferent to the meaningless use of words
And over
Done with useless communication
Their kingdom come
The reign of words is over
Lower me down
The desire to let go of pointless words and choose action instead
They are dead, they are dead
Words no longer have power or value
Oh, don't cry for me
Don't lament the passing of words
Lower them down in the ground
Putting an end to the reign of words
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Agnes Caroline Thaarup Obel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@figliadisam
LYRICS
I wanna buy you roses
'Cause the words are dead,
Follow in the blindness
On the arrow head
'Cause the words are dead
And you know it
Yeah the words are dead
Lower them down
Didn't know if you could
Deny the dead,
Leaving them in silence
On their moldy bed
Oh I am numb
And over
Their kingdom come
Lower me down
They are dead, they are dead
Oh, don't cry for me,
Oh, don't cry for me,
Oh, don't cry for me,
Oh, don't you cry for me
Lower them down in the ground
Lower them down in the ground
@mardybum4562
Les mots sont morts
Je veux t'acheter des roses
Parce que les mots sont morts,
Suis dans l'aveuglement
Sur la pointe de la flèche
Parce que les mots sont morts
Et tu le sais
Ouais, les mots sont morts
Abaisse-les
Je savais pas si tu pouvais
Refuser d'accepter les morts
Les laisser dans le silence
Sur leur lit moisi
Oh je suis engourdie
Et par dessus
Leur royaume arrive
Abaisse-moi
Ils sont morts, ils sont morts
Oh, ne pleure pas pour moi,
Oh, ne pleure pas pour moi,
Oh, ne pleure pas pour moi,
Oh, surtout, ne pleure pas pour moi,
Pose-les sur le sol
Pose-les sur le sol
@adann2333
This is the lyrics :
I wanna buy you roses
'Cause the words are dead,
Follow in the blindness
On the arrow head
'Cause the words are dead
And you know it
Yeah the words are dead
Lower them down
Didn't know if you could
Deny the dead,
Leaving them in silence
On their moldy bed
Oh I am numb
And over
Their kingdom come
Lower me down
They are dead, they are dead
Oh, don't cry for me,
Oh, don't cry for me,
Oh, don't cry for me,
Oh, don't you cry for me
Lower them down in the ground
Lower them down in the ground
@martindavid1897
This is what I expect from a true artist - to have a unique style.
@scottt6267
I’ve read several interpretations of the lyrics and my favorite one is this:
It depicts coming out of the early stages of a relationship- the infatuation, how we’re blinded by love and “Cupid’s arrow.” The narrator wants roses to sum up the feeling that the words can no longer express, aka, actions speak louder than words and the words no longer hold the meaning they once did. “Lower them down into the ground” -let this version of ourselves die. “I am numb. All over their kingdom come.” Love was an illusion and did not match reality. This person you were with is no longer as affectionate and loving as they once were.
But the narrator does not want to be pitied because of this. For it is natural to come apart from love. “Lower me down.” The narrator has accepted a death of this version of themselves. We all mourn love that doesn’t pan out to what we fantasize it to be.
My ex played this song while writing me a love letter last year. He broke up with me a few months later. I don’t think he realized the lyrics depicted a dying relationship, but I always found that to be funny.
@justincombs5311
Agnes' music is magical- there are times that I play her nonstop for days. Her music fills the air and the space in which it's played with peace, leaving room for nothing else.
@muffin_senpai5544
Beautifully said
@marilynmonhoe5164
This song specifically reached a piece of me that I've been yearning to discover once again. To be imprisoned by my own thoughts constantly, it genuinely is an overwhelming emotion to feel my spirit become invigorated, to sense my mind move out of the calignous numb channel it’s been stuck in for a while. Wow I am so eternally grateful to just be able to experience one of life's blessings of hearing, but to actually listen to such moving music is breathtaking. Much obliged to you Agnes for reigniting the warmth and light in me with your music, you truly deserve everlasting success and happiness.
@reyavispa1472
Your comment has been in the back of my mind for a moment now, i just wanted to say 'thank you' for expressing your experience in words when i couldn't find mine's
@marilynmonhoe5164
@Rey Avispa <3
@ritabenzakour9748
Thank you so much, needed to read something like this ❤
@benedettobruno1669
Listening to the words "Oh Don't cry for me" strikes a chord inside of me everytime and when at 2:32 she switches to "Oh don't you cry for me" I get shivers all over my body. Always.
@zeck56
Mds !! Essa mulher é perfeita demais. O seu vocal é tão profundo, fico até arrepiado.